Weekly anb05176.txt #8

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 17-05-2001      PART #6/8

* Rwanda/Belgium. The Brussels trial  -  10 May: The trial of the four 
accused, linked to the 1994 genocide, continues. Sister Solange 
Uwanyiligara appears as a witness. She was a member of Sister Gertrude's 
(one of the accused) community. She says their convent in Sovu was well 
stocked with food, water and wood. Generally-speaking, her testimony is not 
very favourable towards her former superior in the community, Sister 
Gertrude. On the other hand, another witness, Sister Véronique Babo, is 
full of praise for the two accused nuns. Later on, the same day, another 
witness, Mrs Marie Goretti Mbateye, says she was among those refugees who 
fled to Sovu, arriving there on 17 April. She states that she saw refugees 
being refused shelter at the convent by Sister Gertrude and she had seen 
hundreds of people being burnt alive in the garage at Sovu. She says that 
people saw Sisters Gertrude and Kizito (the 2nd of the two accused nuns) 
carrying tins of petrol. 11 May: At the beginning of today's hearing, the 
defence lawyer for Sister Gertrude says it is clear that everyone concerned 
in the trial is becoming extremely tired and this has led, this week, to 
friction, tension and incidents in the court. Three European nuns give 
their testimony. One of them Sister Joanna Paula, (Polish) says she worked 
at the health centre adjoining the Convent at Sovu until 18 April 1994. 
i.e. After the Tutsi refuges arrived but before the first of the three 
massacres took place. She affirms that the refugees received food and drink 
at the convent. 14 May: The trial enters its 5th week. It had been foreseen 
the trial would end at the end of May, then the 8th June. Now it seems 
certain the trial will not be completed before the middle of June. The two 
nuns' defence counsel team say they are not happy with the way the 
presiding judge is conducting the hearings. One of the defence counsel, 
Alain Vergauwen, says the trial is losing an essential element, its 
calmness, and calmness is a conditio sine qua non for ensuring justice is 
done. He is of the opinion that the rights of the defence are in jeopardy. 
Counsel for the plaintiffs claiming damages, agree with defence counsel. 
Lawyer Vergauwen says it cannot be accepted that the presiding judge should 
have refused defence counsel the right to ask a number of questions - this 
indeed happened in preceeding days. 15 May: The general manager of Sorwal, 
Martin Dusabe, a firm which manufactures matches, appears in court. 
Importance is given to a letter written by one of the accused, Alphonse 
Higaniro, to Mr Dusabe. In the letter, Higaniro writes: "In order to ensure 
security in Butare, the "cleansing" must continue and completed". 16 May: 
The court hears evidence in favour of Higaniro. A Benedictine monk. Father 
Baudouin De Bie who was a member of a neighbouring Benedictime community in 
Sovu, says he "cannot see the two accused Benedictine nuns as being 
involved in acts of genocide".   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 17 May 2001)

* Rwanda/Malawi. Renforcement des relations  -  Le 10 mai, le Rwanda et le 
Malawi ont convenu de renforcer leur coopération bilatérale dans divers 
domaines du développement économique, a-t-on appris de source officielle à 
Kigali. Selon un communiqué conjoint publié à l'issue d'un séjour de trois 
jours au Rwanda du président du Malawi, Bakili Muluzi, les deux pays vont 
intensifier leur coopération dans les domaines du commerce et du tourisme. 
Les deux parties ont convenu également de nouer des liens économiques plus 
étroits dans le cadre du Marché commun des pays d'Afrique orientale et 
australe. Les deux chefs d'Etat ont encore promis d'apporter leur soutien 
au processus de paix en cours au Burundi et au Congo RDC.   (PANA, Sénégal, 
10 mai 2001)

* Senegal. New government  -  The Senegalese Prime Minister, Mame Madior 
Boye, has announced the make up of her new 24 member government. Mrs Madior 
Boye, who became Senegal's first woman Prime Minister in March, has given 
several jobs to women as well as members of civil society. Ten of the 
positions, including the armed forces and finance portfolios, have gone to 
members of President Abdoulaye Wade's Senegalese Democratic Party. Earlier, 
Senegal's high court confirmed Mr Wade's Sopi - or Change - coalition as 
the winner of April's general elections. The beaten party, the Alliance for 
Progress, has alleged widespread fraud.   (BBC News, UK, 13 May 2001)

* Sénégal. Le Premier ministre reconduit  -  Le 10 mai, le Premier ministre 
du Sénégal, Mme Madior Boye, a présenté sa démission au président Wade. Le 
même jour, elle a été reconduite dans ses fonctions par le chef de l'Etat. 
Le prochain gouvernement sera constitué d'une "équipe assez réduite, où il 
y aura moins de ministres, avec des femmes, des hommes politiques et des 
membres de la société civile", a déclaré Mme Boye. Elle a indiqué aussi 
qu'elle commencera ses consultations après la décision du Conseil 
constitutionnel sur les élections législatives du 29 avril. Différents 
partis ont déposé des recours pour contester une partie des résultats du 
scrutin. - Le 12 mai, le conseil constitutionnel a confirmé les résultats 
provisoires de la commission nationale pour les élections législatives, qui 
ont consacré la victoire de la coalition Sopi (au pouvoir) qui a obtenu 89 
sièges sur les 120 de la future assemblée nationale. - Ce même jour, Mme 
Boye a fait connaître la formation de son nouveau gouvernement. L'équipe ne 
compte plus que 24 ministres, dont 6 femmes. Le parti présidentiel y est 
très largement représenté: seulement quatre ministres appartiennent à deux 
autres familles politiques. Le nouvel exécutif compte également des 
représentants de la société civile.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 14 mai 
2001)

* Sierra Leone. D'armes en charrues  -  La Mission des Nations unies en 
Sierra Leone (Minusil) devait commencer, ce lundi 14 mai, la destruction de 
10.000 armes à feu récupérées par le biais des efforts nationaux destinés 
au désarmement de tous les belligérants dans le pays, à l'exception de 
l'armée. Chaque jour, près de 450 armes seront mises en pièces avec des 
machines-outils et seront transformées en 4.000 socs de charrues, en 
faucilles, coutelas, pelles, haches et autres outils de jardinage. 
D'anciens combattants participeront à cette tâche, selon la Minusil. Les 
outils seront distribués aux bénéficiaires des plans de réinsertion de la 
Commission nationale pour le désarmement, la démobilisation et la 
réinsertion.   (IRIN, Abidjan, 14 mai 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Church Rescues 86 child soldiers  -  The Catholic Church 
has begun to shelter the first group of child-soldiers who, up until now, 
were fighting with the rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war. Bishop Giorgio 
Biguzzi of Makeni told the MISNA missionary agency that 86 boys and girls 
were handed over on 12 May to the diocesan Caritas organisation by the 
Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Caritas had prepared a place for them in 
St. Francis Secondary School in Makeni. The RUF command authorized Caritas 
personnel to visit the diocesan villages in order to accelerate the rescue 
of minors recruited by the anti-government movement of Sierra Leone. "The 
handing over of the child-soldiers is a sign of hope for the country," 
Bishop Biguzzi said. In some instances, the Church has purchased the 
liberty of children, at a cost of $50 to $100. "I hope that the disarmament 
of the numerous armed bands spread all over Sierra Leone will take place as 
soon as possible," the bishop said. "Only then will it really be possible 
to speak about peace."   (Zenith, Italy, 14 May 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Comprehensive peace talks  -  16 May: Rebels of the 
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone have been holding 
three-way peace talks in the capital, Freetown, with the government and the 
civil defence militia, known as the Kamajor. These are the first peace 
talks involving the RUF rebels that take place inside Sierra Leone since 
fighting broke out again last year. The rebels and the Kamajors have issued 
a joint statement pledging to abide by the terms of the ceasefire, which 
has broadly held since it was implemented last November. A spokeswoman for 
the United Nations in Sierra Leone, Margaret Novicki, told the BBC that the 
key to progress was an agreement on disarmament. A BBC correspondent in the 
region says the deal could pave the way for the full deployment of the UN 
peacekeeping troops.   (BBC News, UK, 16 May 2001)

* Sierra Leone. Enfants soldats relâchés  -  Pendant le week-end du 12-13 
mai, les rebelles du Front révolutionnaire uni (RUF) ont libéré un premier 
groupe de 80 enfants soldats enrôlés dans leurs rangs, qui a été remis à 
des représentants de l'organisation catholique Caritas, dans la localité de 
Lunsar, à 80 km au nord-est de la capitale Freetown. Le 16 mai, un autre 
groupe d'enfants a été remis à la Caritas, portant ainsi à 161 le nombre 
d'enfants libérés à ce jour. Cette initiative, précise l'agence MISNA, 
précède de quelques jours celle qui devrait être lancée à échelle nationale 
par la mission de l'ONU, à partir du 25 mai. Ce qui laisse espérer que le 
RUF a l'intention de prendre au sérieux ses engagements, souligne l'évêque 
de Makeni.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 17 mai 2001)

* Somalia. Major clash in Mogadishu  -  12 May: Heavy fighting has broken 
out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, between forces of the transitional 
government and fighters loyal to a warlord. A BBC correspondent in 
Mogadishu said at least nine people have been killed and 30 others injured. 
The clashes are the first major confrontation between the militia factions 
which control much of the capital and the transitional government set up by 
a number of Somali groups last year in an attempt to reunify the country. 
Both sides were using machine guns and mortars in the Mogadishu port area. 
It is not known what sparked the fighting. Hussein Mohamed Aidid, whose 
gunmen were involved in the fighting, is a key member of a council, set up 
by several powerful warlords that, backed by Ethiopia are seeking to 
replace the government. They say they will form their own government within 
six months, to rival the country's transitional administration. The 
fighting comes on the same day that another warlord in Mogadishu received a 
convoy of heavy-duty lorries transporting weapons and ammunition. The 
convoy, consisting of 12 big trucks, was escorted by about 10 battle wagons 
and more than 100 heavily-armed militiamen. It arrived at the headquarters 
of warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow who also strongly opposes the new transitional 
government. 13 May: Reports from Mogadishu say the city has remained 
relatively quiet after the fierce gunbattle.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 14 May 2001)

* Somalie. Combats à Mogadiscio  -  Les 11 et 12 mai, 80 personnes ont été 
tuées dans la capitale somalienne, lors d'affrontements entre les miliciens 
partisans de Hussein Mohamed Aïdid et des hommes favorables au gouvernement 
de transition (GNT) de Mogadiscio. Aïdid dirige un front commun de chefs de 
factions et des dirigeants régionaux somaliens opposés au GNT. Ce dernier, 
formé après la conférence nationale de réconciliation d'août 2000 à 
Djibouti, est reconnu par la communauté internationale.   (Libération, 
France, 14 mai 2001)

* South Africa. Ramaphosa warning on black economic advancement  -  Cyril 
Ramaphosa, chairman of South Africa's Black Economic Empowerment 
Commission, gave a clear signal to business on 10 May that the slow 
advancement of blacks within the economy would lead to "corrective 
legislative measures. The majority of our population remains excluded from 
the economy and significant interventions are required to alter the course 
of this exclusion," he said at a conference on black empowerment. The 
transfer of economic wealth from white to black people and their 
involvement in the management of business are seen as critical for the 
longer term political stability of the country. Mr Ramaphosa, a prominent 
businessman and a leader of the ruling African National Congress who many 
expect to make a return to the political stage, believes that stark 
economic inequalities are retarding South Africa's ability to attract 
investment and economic growth. Last year, black empowerment had its worst 
year since 1996. The number of black owned companies on the Johannesburg 
Stock Exchange fell from a peak of 43 to 26 and market capitalization 
dwindled to 4.8 per cent of the exchange. New investments by black 
companies fell to R2.5bn last year compared to R20bn in 1998. Analysts have 
blamed the reverse in progress on poor market conditions that left 
financiers carrying debt for over-borrowed black investors. "Certain things 
need to be done by government. But we are also saying that the private 
sector can do certain things." Mr Ramaphosa has proposed that, under a 
Black Empowerment Act, the private sector would be required to draw up 
sectoral empowerment charters, outlining strategies to foster black 
participation. The commission has also set targets for black share 
ownership and procurement from black businesses to solve what it describes 
as a crisis precipitated by apartheid.   (Financial Times, UK, 11 May 2001)

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